Furnace construction



J. FARRIS.

FURNACE CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. 26. 192|.

Patented Mar. 28, 1922.

JOSEPH FARRIS, 0F SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. i

FURNACE CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented pkw- 28, 1922 Application led October 26, '1921. Serial No. 510,546.

of Illinois, have' invented certain new and useful Improvements in Furnace Constructions, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to new and useful features of construction in furnaces, such as those of the hot air type used for heating dwellings, whereby the air passing through the furnace and being heated thereby will be adequately humidiied and freed from dust and particlesof dirt.

A further or added purpose of the invention is the provision of a construction of this general style which materially reduces or minimizes the loss of heat through the base or lower portion of the furnace structure, thereby increasing the operating efficiency of the appliance in material or substantial devree. C To the accomplishment of these and other desirable ends, in the preferred embodiment of the invention a space is provided beneath the ash-pan and this space as well as the other portions of the furnace-base are adapted to accommodate a supply of water which becomes somewhat heated by reason of its proximity to or contact with the bottom of the ash-pan and which delivers its heat thus derived andits moisture to the air flowing through the furnace adjacent to such water supply, the latter in addition trapping or accumulating much of the dust of such air and hence preventing its passage into the dwelling rooms.

In order that those skilled in this art may have a full and complete understanding of this invention and the various structural and functional benefits accruing therefrom, in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this application and to which reference should be had in connection with the following detailed description of the appliance, like reference characters have been used throughout the several views to indicate the same parts.

In this drawing: Y

Figure 1 is a horizontal section through the lower portion of the furnace structure;

Figure 2 isV a fragmentary central vertical section on line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of that portion of the appliance illustrating the overflow aperture and the drain plug; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical section on line 4 4 of Figure 3.

i As is clearly depicted in the drawing, the furnace appliance includes a horizontahcastmetal, shallow, base-pan or tray 10 of general, Vbut not exact, circular shape havingr a correspondingly-shaped, border or marginal, upstandmg flange or rim 11 shouldered eX- ternally at 12, recessed at 13 for overflow, and provided with a screw-threaded drainhole, normally closed or filled by a threaded plug 14 with an angular head by means of which it may be turned when necessary.

The front edge portion 15 of the flange 1-1 of such pan is straight instead of curved to provide for a fiat front face for the furnace, and the top surfaceof thepan is supplied with two, spaced, upright, right-angle lugs or bosses 16, 16 and associated or companion straight lugs or ears 17, 17.

These four complementary lugs are designed to hold against displacement a castmetal bottom or floor member 18 of the ashpan which is equipped with depending lugs or feet 19 and 2O resting on the base-pan in substantial register with the cooperating parts 16 and 17, thus holding the element 18 spaced above or supported from the basepan a small distance so that the body of humidifying or vapor-supplying water contained in the base-tray will be beneath and usually, but not necessarily,v in contact with the bottom of member 18.

That part of element 18 inside of the basepan is of general rectangular form with two front corners 22, 22 beveled off to fit the curvature of the rim or flange 11 at those points, and such part of member 18'inside of the base-pan has a marginal upright flange 23 with its top edge above the water level in pan 10V as determined by the height of the overflow hole 13.

At the front straight part of the pan or tray 10, the flange 23 of the floor member of the ash-pan is integral with a narrow, horizontal web 24, positioned directly over the Vtop edge of flange 15, which merges into a Yvertical web 25 just outside of the flange 23,

and this in turn joins with a front, outstanding, horizontal platform or ledge 26 equipped with a supporting depending flange 27 along its front and two end edges.

From an understanding of this construction, it will be seen that the base-pan or tray rests on or is set into a suitable foundation, such as cement, and that the flange 27 is similarly supported `by the same structure, the parts 23, 211 and 25 providing between them a suitable straight groove on the under side of the ash-pan member to receive the flange Thus this ash-pan floor-member is partly inside of and partially outside of the basepan, extending forwardly over the front Bange of the latter and being especially formed or shaped for this purpose.

The companion, open-bottom, ash-pit member 28 rests on the floor element 158 just inside of its retaining flange which holds it in place, extends forwardly over the parte 15, 23 211, and 25, being provided at the front of the furnace with a suitable or appropriate hinged door 29, and is equipped at its top with an appropriate grate 30 and Vlire-pot 31, although the grate operating mechanism has not been illustrated.

"Furnace cement or any other suitable material is employed at the joint between the parts 18 and 28 to render the same leal(- proof or gas-tight.

A fitting' or conformable furnace frontplate 32 straddles the front portion of the ash-pan and is held in place on ledge 26 by buttons or bosses 33 on its top surface.

The outer shell or casing 3st, as is usual, is made of sheet-metal, its lower edge resting on the shoulder 12 of the flange or marginal rim ofthe base-pan, such casing or Y shell' just above the water level in the basepan having a suitable number of cold air intake flues 0r pipes 35 and 36, two in the present instance, although the exact number is not material, a hole at its lower edge in register with the overfiow 'aperture 13, and two doors 37, 37 at opposite sidesof the furnace permitting the ready introduction of water into the bottom pan.

lt will be perceived that the water level is such, determined or fixed by the position of the overflow aperture, that'the water beneath andin contact with the bottom surface of the ash-pan floor vmember 1S, hence the water in large measure absorbs the heat which would otherwise be dissipated through the bottom of the furnace into the furnace roomand gives up lsuch heat in the form of warm vapor to the air entering through the admission pipes and 3G, thus humidifying the air in adequate degree as it flows through and becomes heated by the furnace.

Such outer air is delivered into the furnace just above the surface of the water and by reason of the'proximity of the latter and the change of direction of-air flow directly above it, a substantial quantity of the dirt and dust in the air is trapped and held by the water.

ATo clean. out or flush this bottomwater pan, it is merely necessary to remove the drain-plug 14 and introduce water, as by means of a hose or otherwise, through either one of the doors 37 into the pan permitting-it, together with the accumulated dirt, to flow out through the drain hole.

The top edge of the flange of the ashpan floor member being above the overflow aperture, there is no danger at any time of any of the water entering such ash-pan, the overflow always acting as a suitable safety means. 5

-lnasmuch as the two members of the ashpan are sealed together gas-tight and extend forwardly beyond the shell or casing of the furnace, where a gas-tightdoor is provided, the door and aslrp'an having a ground joint, the former being held closed by a suitable handle, there is no dangerv of any leakage of gas from the ashpan and especially no leakage in-such a'manner as would contaminate the air being heated and humidiiied Vby this portion of the furnace.

The invention herein set forth in detail, as will be understood by thoseslrilled in the art, is susceptible of a variety of satisfactory embodiments and is not limited to the precise and exact details of construction of the one embodiment shown and described Vbecause in this appliance many changes may Vbe made without departure from the substance and essence of theinvention and without the sacrifice of any of its substantial benefit-s and advantages.

I claim:

1. In an air heating furnace of the character described, the combination of a base pan adapted to hold a body of humidifying water and having an upstanding marginal rim uninterrupted except by an overfiow aperture and a normally-closed drain-hole in such rim, an ash-pan having'a floor member spaced above the bottom Vof said base pan and of an area vless thanthat of the .body of waterin said base-pan thereby exposing a portion of the surface ofv such water outside of said aslrpan, said ash-pan extending forwardly over and beyond the rim of the basepan at the front-thereof, said floor member having a marginal iange the top edge of which is above the water level determinedby said overflow aperture, an enclosing casing for the furnace, means permitting the delivery of Vwater into such base-pan, and means to admit the air to be heated into said casing above the water in said `base-pan, said overflow aperture being positioned at such height as to permit the Vwater in the basepan to contact with the bottom face of said ash-pan floor member. i

2. In an air, heating furnace of the 'chai'-V acter described, theV combination of a basepan adapted to hold a body lof humidifying water and having an upstanding marginal rimA uninterrupted exceptv by an overfiow aperture, an ash-pan supported by said basepan and having a Hoor member the bottom face of which is spaced above the bottom of said baseepan at a height below the lovver edge of said overiiow aperture thereby permitting said body of Water to contact with the bottom face of said floor member, said ash-pan being of less area than that of the body of Water in said base-pan hence exposing a portion of the surface of such Water outside of said ash-pan, said ashspan extending forwardly over and beyond the rim of the base-pan at the front thereof, said ashpan floor member having a marginal upstanding flange the top edge of Which is above the level of the Water in the base-pan determined by said overflow aperture, an enclosing casing for the furnace supported on said base-pan, means to deliver Water into said base-pan, and means to admit air to be heated into said casing above said Water.

3. In an air heating furnace of the character described, the combination of a base pan adapted to hold a body of humidifying Water equipped with means to limit the maximum height of the Water therein, an ash-pan above said base-pan having a floor member spaced above the bottom of the basepan thereby permitting a portion of the body of Water to reside beneath and in contact with the bottom face of such floor member, said Hoor member havingan upstand- Y ing marginal flange the top edge of which is above said maximum Water level, an enclosing furnace casing, means permitting the introduction of Water into said base-pan, and means to admit air to be heated to said furnace casing in proximity to said body of water. 1

l. In an air heating furnace of the character described, the combination of a basepan adapted to hold a body of humidifying Water equipped with means to limit the height of Water therein and with means to drain the water therefrom, an ash-pan above said base-pan having itsy floor spaced upwardly aivay from the bottom of said basepan permitting at least a portion of the Water to reside beneath and in contact with the bottom of the ash-pan, a casing for the furnace, a door in said casing giving access to said base-cpan, and means to admit air to said casing in proximity to said body of Water.

5. In an air heating furnace of the character described, the combination of an ashpan, means to hold a body of air-humidifying Water in part beneath and in Contact with the bottom of said ash-pan, and means to cause the incoming air to fiow in proximity to the exposed surface of said body of Water to become humidied thereby.

JOSEPH FARRIS. 

